


After The Fall

by PhoenixSong13



Category: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-19 22:13:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11322759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixSong13/pseuds/PhoenixSong13
Summary: An angsty drabble in which LeFou gets out his feelings and gets a surprise in return





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please be kind! This is my first submission to AO3!

Despite what the stories would later say, not everyone was happy at the return of the prince or that Belle had found her happily ever after. Not everyone was ready to celebrate when something so very precious to them had been lost. One man wanted nothing to do with the festivities or the celebration.  
Leal LeFou really had nothing to say to the happy couple. He had murmured his congratulations, attended the wedding as everyone had, had even helped Belle plan her grand fete. That did not mean he was really all there to witness what he was doing.  
His mind drifted elsewhere often, to the small grave that held all that remained of a man who had always been larger than life. The grave would have never held him if the man hadn’t been broken in the long fall from the castle tower or perhaps if the wolves hadn’t found the remains and feasted on them for days before LeFou had found them.  
When LeFou had found Gaston, all that had been left were bones, picked clean. It had taken him a week to find him. He’d brought him home, buried him behind the small cottage they had shared for the better parts of their lives. He had accepted no help in the process, though Stanley had been kind enough to carve the headstone for LeFou since the smaller man was illiterate and could not spell Gaston’s name to save his life.   
Each evening, after he had eaten a little, he would go and sit by the headstone, touching fingers against the name. He hadn’t been able to bring himself to talk to Gaston because it was far too surreal to imagine that Gaston was gone. There were times that LeFou could believe with all of his heart that the hunter was going to come through the doors, a stag over his shoulder, a smug smile on that perfect face.  
But it never happened.  
It was hard for LeFou. It was so incredibly hard for him. Despite the fact that Gaston had abandoned him right before he had fallen to his death, it didn’t mean that LeFou ever stopped loving him or caring for him. He had been his best friend for over ¾ of his life, after all. No, LeFou knew that whatever madness had taken Gaston in the end had erased the man that LeFou had grown up with.  
This night was no different than all of the nights previously. He’d eaten his small meal of stew and now sat by the headstone, a bottle of wine beside him and two glasses. The difference was, he was ready to talk to Gaston and knew they would both need the alcohol (a silly notion for a dead man) to cope with LeFou’s anguish.  
For a long moment, LeFou just stared at the words on the headstone. “Gaston Donadieu du Villeneuve, A man with a warrior’s heart and greatness in his soul.” A tad romantic, perhaps, but only LeFou ever saw the headstone anyway.  
“Bon nuit, mon cher. It’s a little chilly tonight, don’t you think?” LeFou started dumbly. He felt utterly ridiculous talking to the grave as though he expected Gaston’s voice to answer back.   
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, free of the ribbon he usually wore. The wind picked up and ruffled his locks and he could almost imagine Gaston’s hand doing the same.  
“This isn’t easy, you know. I feel a fool talking to you like this, but perhaps that’s why my name is ‘The Fool’. I was always your fool, wasn’t I?” A beat. “Stanley said this might help me to move on, to gain closure. I dunno. I don’t think I’ll ever have closure but I figured this can’t hurt. At least I might be able to actually say what I’m thinking without interruption…”  
He would have welcomed an interruption right then. To hear Gaston tell him to quit this romantic nonsense and come inside. But, of course, it never came. So LeFou pressed on.  
“I’m so hurt, Gaston. You promised me you would never abandon me, never leave me. But you did. You did because of Belle, because of a woman who could never appreciate you or the man you were. She saw an idiot with you, a conceited and egotistical man who didn’t care about anyone but himself. And maybe you were all of that. But I saw a man who had borne so many emotional and physical scars and had come to be who he became because of circumstances. You so wanted to impress a father who never wanted to be a father, you fought a bloody war where you lost so many friends. You put on a front so no one could see how much you were hurting inside.”  
LeFou took a sip of wine, bolstering himself a little. All of these were his observances over time, what he had witnessed in his friend. He knew he was not wrong, but he could still imagine Gaston’s horrified reaction that someone could see what he refused to show the world.  
“I really don’t know why you wanted Belle. She was the most unattainable woman in Villeneuve. And maybe I just answered my own question. You loved a challenge, the hunt. She fought against you so hard and yet you fought harder. It was a game to you. I know you wanted to leave Maurice because he insulted you and told you he would never let you marry Belle, but your anger was so misplaced. You needed to work on yourself before trying to be in a relationship. And then there’s me.”  
LeFou stretched a bit and turned to lay in the grass so that his head was by the headstone. He wore one of Gaston’s old tunics from when they had been younger, before the taller man had been all muscle. He inhaled the scent of ambergris and let out a breath.  
“Maybe I know now why you could never want me, other than the obvious reason. I was too easy, too good at bolstering you and giving you no challenge. I let you get away with so much. I never ever told you that you were wrong, I never stood up to you. It made it easy for you to cast me aside, to pay me no mind. I was never a challenge for you, never good enough for you. But it never mattered to me. I love you so much and I always have...I just wish you were here with me now, so that I could show you everything you mean to me…”  
LeFou closed his eyes and let out a harsh breath as tears threatened to spill forth. He had cried so many tears over Gaston but there were always a couple more. There would always be tears enough for Gaston.  
Suddenly, a warmth, solid and comforting, settled over LeFou, so very tangible that it was like an embrace. It took LeFou a split second to realize that it was a real presence.  
“Open your eyes, Leal, and let me see you,” said a masculine voice, soft and full of care.  
LeFou’s eyes snapped open and in one moment, he knew there was magic in the world.  
“It can’t be… Gaston…”  
A kiss brushed over trembling lips. “It took you long enough, mon amour. Long enough indeed.”

LE FIN

*Bon nuit, mon cher - Good evening, my dear.  
Mon amour- My love

If this gets good enough reception, I might continue it :3 Sorry if it’s kind of rushed, though, I had a lot in my mind.


	2. Prequel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few hours before the events of After The Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be kind D: I wrote this on the fly. Eeeeepers

After the Fall-Prequel

A Few Hours Earlier

Belle didn’t come into the town too much anymore. She remembered the cruelty she sometimes suffered at the hands of the people who lived here. Despite the fact she was now their Princess, some wrongs were hard to forget, though she was gracious enough to have forgiven them.   
She only returned to Villeneuve to talk to LeFou as he didn’t go to the castle much, though his memories told him he used to frequent there quite a bit. She knew it had to do with Gaston, with the fact that he had died falling from this castle.   
After asking around, she discovered that he hadn’t left his cottage most of the day. Stanley told her he had tried to call around, to see if he would like to go for a ride with him as he’d just reshoed Chou, but LeFou had turned him down. Again.  
And so, Belle found herself outside the sweet little cottage LeFou and Gaston had inhabited together. Even though she could tell that LeFou had obviously had run over the outer appearance of le petit maison, she could still see Gaston’s touches here and there. The moulding was stags and rabbits, the frame of sturdy oak and ebony. In a way, it made her heart ache.  
She hadn’t liked Gaston much, he seemed conceited and pompous and far too egotistical for her liking, but he had been someone she had known fairly well. She hadn’t wanted anyone to die, but had not been able to stop his death. Seeing this house reminded her far too clearly of this fact.  
Belle knocked gently at the door, not wanting to disturb LeFou but wanting to talk to him all the same. There were a couple of moments where she thought maybe he had slipped away without anyone taking notice but then the front door opened.  
LeFou looked dreadful. His ponytail was a mess, his clothes were disheveled, and his eyes were encircled with shadows that spoke of limited sleep for days. He looked a little dazed in the sunlight and she surmised he must have been sitting in the dark.  
“Leal, how are you?” she asked gently, unsure if she wanted an answer or not.  
He gave a small shrug. “I have been better. What brings you here, Belle? Should you not be with your new husband?”  
She detected a hint of bitterness in his tone and expected that she deserved it to some degree. After all, how was it fair that she gotten her happily ever after and LeFou had gotten nothing for all of his troubles? If anyone deserved happiness, it was Leal LeFou.  
“Adam had some things to attend to in the castle now that everything is up and functional again. Agathe came to visit him so he took some time for her as well. I wanted to see you, to talk to you, if I might? I know you’re not happy with me and I deserve that, but I have never had grief with you and I want to know you better.”  
For a moment, LeFou’s face was completely unreadable. And then his features softened, relented, and he beckoned her inside the small abode. He took her cloak and hung it by the door.  
She expected it to be somewhat of a mess as she knew he had not been motivated to do much in the last three weeks. To her surprise, the house was spotless, a comfortable fire roared in the hearth, and she could smell stew cooking in the pot on the fire. It felt… cozy.  
“I’ve never been inside here… It’s very comfortable,” Belle said, turning to LeFou, her hands clasped in front of her.  
“I wanted it to be like it was when…” LeFou let out a breath and looked at her. “When Gaston left that night. Belle, you don’t deserve disdain or unhappiness. You can’t help who you love and don’t love. You just never felt that way for him and he had a hard time accepting that fact. I may have laid some blame on you, but the truth is, the blame is on Gaston. If he had stopped being so stubborn and mule-headed, he might still be alive today. That has nothing to do with you. I’m actually quite glad that you are not like the other girls here. Paulette, Laurette, and Claudette would have gladly given him three dozen children and done his bidding and that fueled that terrible ego of his.”  
LeFou moved around the room, opening the shutters and letting in some cooler, fresher air. He also fixed his ponytail and straightened himself out a bit while he was at it, slightly embarrassed to be seen that way by Belle.   
“Goodness, three dozen tiny Gastons...Could you imagine, LeFou?” There was a gentle, teasing tone to Belle’s voice and it made the shorter male smile to himself.  
“It would have been unbearable! To say the very least. Have a seat, ma cheri. Would you like some wine perhaps?”  
Belle acquiesced, planting herself by the fire. She took the glass he offered her and he sat down across from her. They stared at each other for a long moment, sipping their wine occasionally.  
It was Belle who spoke first. “Leal, is it true that you found him? Stanley said you had…”  
LeFou nodded almost imperceptibly. “Oui. It took me a week, but I did. There was hardly anything left…” He looked down at his hands, shaking with the effort of suppressing emotion that he didn’t want Belle to see.   
But she had already seen it. She reached out and covered his hands with hers, steadying him. “Did you bring him home?” She asked quietly, her voice trembling.  
This time, he couldn’t vocalize an answer so he just nodded. His gaze flitted out the window and she followed it. She could make out a stone in the garden with words carved into it. She couldn’t read it from where she sat, but she knew it was his gravestone.  
“Puis-je?” Belle asked gently. She received another nod in response and she stood, finishing her wine in one go.  
She walked outside and stood before the marker. Her fingers brushed over the carved name of the man who had given her so much grief in the past couple of years. Seeing this made the situation all too real to her.  
“Oh Gaston… Je suis tres desolee, mon ami... You didn’t deserve this end,” she whispered, tears springing into the corners of her eyes. “No one deserved an end like that…”  
LeFou’s voice behind her made her jump a little, as she thought him still inside the cottage. “It was worse than any of us imagined. The wolves got to him, my lady. All I found were bones. I brought what I found back and buried him here. I felt it better than leaving him in that terrible forest.”  
Belle looked at LeFou. There was so much sadness in his eyes and he looked so defeated. The thought of finding the man she loved like that made her heart ache so desperately for LeFou.   
“He was fortunate to have you as a friend, Leal. I’m glad that you found him.”  
There was a heavy silence between them that stretched through several minutes. Heavy, though not uncomfortable. It seemed almost natural that she had taken his hand and he had held it after a bit. There was a shared camaraderie that bound them there.  
Belle cleared her throat after an attempt at speech had proved to be fruitless. All that  
came from her was an undignified squeak. She tried again, weighing her words in her mind as she said them. “For whatever it’s worth, I forgive him. I forgive him for everything, including attempting to kill Adam. He had no idea what was going on and believed the town was in danger. Maybe he was spurred on by selfish desires, but I still forgive him.”  
LeFou looked up at her, surprised disbelief on his face. “Truly?” Belle nodded in response. “I am so grateful for that, Belle… I know he would be too. Gaston was many things, but a monster was not something he ever intended on being.”  
“I know. He only ever just wanted to be the best, everyone’s hero. He was not evil.”  
They stood beside the grave for a little while longer and then Belle, upon realizing the the hour was late and knowing she would have to traverse the forest in semi-darkness, bid Leal adieu and went on her way, asking him to come call when he had time. She promised him he would always be welcome at the palace.  
Her journey home went without incident and Adam was waiting for her as she came through the door. He held his bride to him, kissing her forehead and warming her arms with his large hands.  
“I was worried something might have happened, you were gone for so long,” he said gently, pulling back to look down into her eyes. She smiled and touched his cheek.  
“I apologize, darling. I took the time to talk to Leal and he showed me where he had buried Gaston. Do you know, I came to a realization while I was there?”  
They moved to the drawing room, arm in arm. Adam helped her into her chair and then sat beside her on the floor, his head against her knee. “Did you indeed?”  
“Yes… I realized that I have forgiven Gaston, despite all of the problems he caused for us. I don’t feel anything negative for him and my heart aches for LeFou. I wish Gaston could have lived to see everything, to see what this world is like now. Maybe to see what we all saw in Villeneuve, that Gaston and LeFou belonged together. I forgive him and I’m terribly sad… I’m sorry. My mind is a jumble so I imagine I’m not making sense…” She felt like there was always too much going on in her mind and she knew she confused Adam once in a great while because of it, but he squeezed her hand reassuringly.  
“No, Belle, you make perfect sense. I find it a little eerie that you bring up Gaston and forgiveness, because it’s something that Agathe asked me about earlier. She didn’t ask me for an answer, just to think about it. She asked if I could ever forgive Gaston for what he had done and then she left me with my thoughts. I’ve been trying to eke out my own decision on the matter all afternoon.”  
Mrs. Potts came in then with a tray of tea, a smile on her face. She poured them both a cup and then went to check on Chip, who seemed to be off getting into trouble once more now that he could go anywhere by way of his two legs.   
After a fashion, where it seemed that Adam likely wasn’t going to volunteer any information, Belle decided to pry a little. She set her tea on the table and looked down at him.  
“And? What have you decided? Or, at the least, what are you thinking?”  
Adam looked up at her. “I want to be angry with him, I want to hate him, but I cannot. If he had not done what he did, neither you or I would have ever confessed our feelings to one another. You would have gone back to Villeneuve and I would have remained a beast forever. Yes, he shot me and technically he killed me, but he also was the catalyst for me to tell you that I loved you and vice-versa. So yes, I can forgive him. I can and have forgiven him. I only wish that his death could have been prevented.”  
Belle teared up, reminded once again why she had fallen in love with this man. His good heart always won out. She leaned forward and hugged him tightly, kissing the top of his head. He took her hand, holding it gently.  
“I love you so, Adam. You’re right. Without Gaston, we would never have gotten our happily ever after. Maybe we could do something for LeFou, maybe make a memorial to Gaston here,” she said softly.  
He chuckled quietly in her ear. “I completely agree with that…”  
The night wore on as normal for the couple, where they sat before the fireplace and read a book together, poetry and sonnets in the tranquility of their home.   
However, LeFou’s night in Villeneuve, was as far from normal as could be. 

LE FIN

*Le petit maison- the little house  
Ma cheri- Feminine form of “my dear”  
Puis-je?- May I?  
Je suis tres desolee, mon ami- I am so sorry, my friend


	3. Conclusion ?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What follows after LeFou's surprise visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be the end. Maybe. I don't know

After The Fall-Conclusion

LeFou had been staring at him without breaking eye contact for something close to a quarter of an hour. His hand had also not left his arm in that time either. It amused Gaston to some degree, but he also knew that an explanation was soon in order.  
“Calm down, my friend… I know this comes as a shock to you and it should, but I promise you that I am not leaving again, not for a very long time,” he told LeFou, covering his hand with his own.  
Leal was close to tears, Gaston could see it so clearly on his face. Before, Gaston might have boasted that he was a man who could bring any inferior person to tears, but that just wasn’t how he felt now. He sat with LeFou on the grass, holding his hands carefully.  
“Ask whatever questions you have and I will try to answer them, amour.”  
A battery of expressions flitted over his friend’s face and LeFou was obviously trying to figure out what question he wanted to ask first. Gaston remained patiently where he was, waiting.  
“How are you alive? All I found were bones! Or perhaps… am i dead, Gaston? Did my heart break and I died of it?” LeFou’s voice was barely a whisper.  
A soft chuckle escaped the taller man. “No, Leal, you aren’t dead. We are both very much alive and yes, you found my bones. I don’t want you to think you buried someone else so lovingly for nothing.”  
That fear assuaged, LeFou’s muscles relaxed and he let out a breath. “So then… I ask again, how are you alive?”  
Gaston looked down at their hands. “It started after the fall. I did fall, I did hit the ground. I was in so much agony. I could feel splintered bones poking through my skin and blood seeping everywhere. I knew I would be dead soon…” He paused, assessing his thoughts and working to remember every detail. “And then I saw a beautiful golden light and I was numb, blissfully so. I couldn’t move my head to look up, but I heard a beautiful voice, the voice of a woman. She told me that I had become a beast as much as Adam had, that I was angry and hateful and awful, but that she could see the light in my soul and so she gave me a chance. She encased my soul in my bones and put a curse upon me. Perhaps a blessing, in hindsight. She said that three things had to happen before I could be whole again. Belle would have to forgive me, Adam would have to forgive me, and you would have to tell me your feelings about me. In that order, as it were. No offense, vieille bite, but I gave myself up as lost then.”  
The hunter looked up at the sky, taking in the stars and the darkness overhead. The sun had almost completely vanished behind the hills and the crickets had come out, singing their gentle tune. It was so immensely peaceful.  
“Why? Did you think I would never admit how I felt about you?” LeFou asked quietly.  
“Oh no… Of the three of you, I felt I would hear from you soonest. I never imagined that Belle or Adam would forgive me and I honestly wouldn’t have blamed them if they couldn’t. I can’t forgive myself totally for what I did, what I became.”  
LeFou was quiet for a long moment. “Belle was here earlier, Gaston. She told me she forgave you for everything. I don’t know about Adam, but he must have forgiven you sometime this evening if you’re here now.”  
Gaston looked to him, blue eyes sparkling in the light of dusk. “Oh he did. I heard him. Agathe put a bee in his bonnet, I imagine, though I think Belle would have done that on her own in time. She’s very loquacious, our Belle.”  
A calm silence grew between them. Gaston knew that Leal was thinking still, trying to come up with another question. He eventually settled on one.  
“What do you mean, it took me long enough? If it had to be in a specific order, then aren’t I right on time?” There was confusion in his voice, his brow knitted together.  
“You were right on time for the curse!” A laugh escaped Gaston, a real laugh filled with happiness. “I meant it took you long enough to tell me. I wish you had done so sooner, we might have escaped this fiasco.” At the even more perplexed expression from his smaller friend, he elaborated. “Leal, I have loved you for so long, but I am not very smart when it comes to recognizing love in others. You said that I wanted to impress a father who never wanted to be a father and you were correct. I never knew what love was supposed to look like because he never showed me love. My maman died in childbirth with me and he stopped caring. So you have loved me all this time but I couldn’t recognize it. If I had known, we would have left Villeneuve, perhaps purchased a vineyard in Provence. I would have loved to live that way with you. And we have that chance now, if that’s what we want. I love you, Leal.”  
LeFou’s lower lip trembled and he glanced away from Gaston. “How could you love me? I am nothing compared to you. I am illiterate and plutot gras. I am not worthy of you.”  
Gaston’s hand came up, fingers against LeFou’s lips. “Hush, I will hear none of that. You are wonderful, Leal. You are very much worthy of me, I just don’t think I am worthy of you…”  
The smaller man’s head snapped up. “Of course you are worthy of me! You have always been worthy of me!” There was some indignance there, but it faded at the smile that crept across Gaston’s face.  
“Then we are worthy of each other. Leal, I want to run away with you. What do you say to that, mon amour?”  
It only took LeFou a split second to leap from the ground into Gaston’s arms. “Of course we shall! This place isn’t for us, Gaston, not anymore…”  
Gaston gently played with LeFou’s ponytail. “It hasn’t been since the war. First, we will stop at the castle so that I may ask forgiveness in person, and then off to Provence we will go. Go pack, Leal. And get Magnifique saddled and the wagon hitched, please. We’re leaving as soon as we can.”  
LeFou nodded, looking up at him. “I feel like I walked into the middle of a fairy tale. This never happens to me.”  
Gaston leaned down, touching their noses together. “There’s a first time for everything. And you deserve it, you always have, ma petite citrouille mignonne.” He touched their lips together, holding LeFou against him fast.   
When they parted, Leal walked to the cottage in a daze. It was only once inside did it occur to him what Gaston had called him. “Hey! I am not a cute little pumpkin!”  
A hearty laugh is all that met his ears and he knew that everything would be okay.

LE FIN. MAYBE. I DON’T EVEN KNOW

*vieille bite- old cock  
Maman- mother  
Plutot gras- rather fat  
Ma petite citrouille mignonne- my cute little pumpkin


End file.
